Has your personal life affected your political philosophy?

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enamdar
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17 Jul 2009, 11:22 pm

How have your personal life experiences affect and shaped your political, economic, social, philosophical, religious worldviews?



MrLoony
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17 Jul 2009, 11:42 pm

Of course they do.

As far as philosophical and religious views go for me, they're a bit odd. I am quite sure that I know more about "man's inhumanity towards man" than the average person, and I've also gone through a considerable amount of crap in my life. And yet, I have chosen a religion that believes that both people and life are basically good. How can this be?

Well, in the first case, it's what is inside me as well as what I see in other people. I have gone through life observing people's behaviors, and I've learned something: People are most happy when they're being good, and most unhappy when they are doing ill. Moreover, can you go to a maternity ward and tell me that every single last one of those babies are evil?

On the second count, I realized that, once I stopped trying so hard to be happy, I was happy. There is, of course, another reason why I was drawn to Taoism. It was experiential, and so not only can I not share it, but I wouldn't, anyway.

Autism has obviously affected my social worldview. I don't need to be around people to be happy. Nobody needs to be around people to be happy. We believe that we do; we qualify happiness by saying that we must have this to be happy. Since we can never have everything we must have at any particular time, we can never be happy, unless we realize that these are not musts. Oh, wait. That's philosophical. Eh.


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Sand
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17 Jul 2009, 11:56 pm

How could it not?



Awesomelyglorious
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18 Jul 2009, 10:44 am

Personal life experiences? I suppose such a term might almost mean anything, as even readings are personal, but I imagine that the problem is really one of non-intellectual influences.

Well, philosophically I have been embittered towards people by a matter of some betrayals and massively discordant views on important matters. As such, I can have a cynical and pessimistic streak at times. I probably also have that from a tendency to feel ongoing guilt at many times for things that have already ended. So, you know, views that people are evil, unimprovable, not valuable, etc, tend to make sense to me. I also generally remember myself as not properly bonding to anyone when younger, which has likely led to an individualistic streak and perhaps even a certain amount of viciousness as I tend to see the world egoistically or oppositionally.(however, this could just be genetic) I've also pushed away from rationalism towards something closer to existentialism due to two periods of major depression, and the fact that one of these involved emotional distress severe enough that I strongly believed that two opposing things were true at once and thus cynically moved further away from rationalism towards something more pragmatic. (I will admit that I probably haven't systemized this mess as well as is ideal perhaps)

Religiously, I have been embittered towards that because I have been significantly hurt by people of religion. The issue is that I remember these people as people, and thus it hasn't transferred much to "religion is the source of all evil" but rather instead the view that "religion is a fairy tale that cannot live up to what it's reality would promote".

Socially? Well, the philosophical embitterment means that I tend to have some social embitterment as well. I suppose I tend to see most people as messed up little monkey creatures that get along by impulses. It is one of the least ennobling views there is, but it seems generally true. People do what they do because of primitive impulses, and the reason that scores of them do not just die is because we are reasonably adapted. It is not as if things are filled with as much intentionality as it is easy to think, but rather there is just absurdity held together by social norms that provide hand-holds by which people can work together. A problem I have is that I do not believe in the social norms and want different systems.

Economically? The person who first introduced me to the field of economics sided with the Austrian school, and one of the sites where I got my education early on was an openly Austrian site. mises.org As such, I tend to be more supportive of their kind of view of the economy.

Politically? I tend to be an individualist anarchist because my problems with moral realism have caused me to dislike imposing views upon other people politically because even though I can never lack justice in doing so, I cannot be just and do so, and the latter impression weighs on me more heavily(I know, moral realism means a lack of justice but if you are an anti-realist, then you have to admit to a feeling of justice as different than the external ideal. My views on the matter have only intensified due to some bad run-ins with the authorities due to a bad set of circumstances.



Sand
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18 Jul 2009, 11:27 am

Awesomelyglorious wrote:
Personal life experiences? I suppose such a term might almost mean anything, as even readings are personal, but I imagine that the problem is really one of non-intellectual influences.

Well, philosophically I have been embittered towards people by a matter of some betrayals and massively discordant views on important matters. As such, I can have a cynical and pessimistic streak at times. I probably also have that from a tendency to feel ongoing guilt at many times for things that have already ended. So, you know, views that people are evil, unimprovable, not valuable, etc, tend to make sense to me. I also generally remember myself as not properly bonding to anyone when younger, which has likely led to an individualistic streak and perhaps even a certain amount of viciousness as I tend to see the world egoistically or oppositionally.(however, this could just be genetic) I've also pushed away from rationalism towards something closer to existentialism due to two periods of major depression, and the fact that one of these involved emotional distress severe enough that I strongly believed that two opposing things were true at once and thus cynically moved further away from rationalism towards something more pragmatic. (I will admit that I probably haven't systemized this mess as well as is ideal perhaps)

Religiously, I have been embittered towards that because I have been significantly hurt by people of religion. The issue is that I remember these people as people, and thus it hasn't transferred much to "religion is the source of all evil" but rather instead the view that "religion is a fairy tale that cannot live up to what it's reality would promote".

Socially? Well, the philosophical embitterment means that I tend to have some social embitterment as well. I suppose I tend to see most people as messed up little monkey creatures that get along by impulses. It is one of the least ennobling views there is, but it seems generally true. People do what they do because of primitive impulses, and the reason that scores of them do not just die is because we are reasonably adapted. It is not as if things are filled with as much intentionality as it is easy to think, but rather there is just absurdity held together by social norms that provide hand-holds by which people can work together. A problem I have is that I do not believe in the social norms and want different systems.

Economically? The person who first introduced me to the field of economics sided with the Austrian school, and one of the sites where I got my education early on was an openly Austrian site. mises.org As such, I tend to be more supportive of their kind of view of the economy.

Politically? I tend to be an individualist anarchist because my problems with moral realism have caused me to dislike imposing views upon other people politically because even though I can never lack justice in doing so, I cannot be just and do so, and the latter impression weighs on me more heavily(I know, moral realism means a lack of justice but if you are an anti-realist, then you have to admit to a feeling of justice as different than the external ideal. My views on the matter have only intensified due to some bad run-ins with the authorities due to a bad set of circumstances.


So not only do you seem to have a negative view of life and people but also of yourself. That's a tough way to live.



Awesomelyglorious
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18 Jul 2009, 1:22 pm

Sand wrote:
So not only do you seem to have a negative view of life and people but also of yourself. That's a tough way to live.

I still apparently function, think of all of those who do not. Besides, a negative view of other people isn't problematic given that it is worse to think that humanity has some higher structure to it that you aren't apart of, better to think that everything is screwed up rather than just oneself. Besides, it is unlikely that I have abandoned every idealism and every beneficial self-deception, so really that makes things easier.



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18 Jul 2009, 1:42 pm

In all honesty, it has had in the past.

Now I try to accommodate my personal life around the beliefs I had all my life, and try to look for loopholes.


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18 Jul 2009, 5:42 pm

Let's see.... I doubt i could pinpoint every case that made me think otherwise, let's just say i go with the flow and incorporate everything i find. I'm more or less a humanitarian but i can still be critical enough to see what's going on, it makes me sad sometimes too. =/



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19 Jul 2009, 1:08 pm

Here is my situation:

I am a Christian, and I vote Republican. I also like the Simpsons, South Park, and indie/foreign films. Conservative Christians think the Simpsons and South Park are evil because of the language on those shows, and they think indie/foreign films are bad because of the language, and occasional steamy sex scenes, and to them, watching those films is no different than watching porn. Also, I don't think sex should be limited to procreational purposes, or within marriage, and I am constantly in hot water with conservative Christians. Texas is about half-Catholic, half-Baptist. I am Lutheran.

Many of the people who have the same interests and sexual beliefs tend to fit the "artsy hipster" category, but they refuse to associate with Christians, regardless of their denomination, because they think that all Christians are bigoted, racist, sexist, and homophobic.

To fit in with them, you have to be or do the following:

1. Be an atheist, agnostic, or practice a religion that promotes tolerance (I think they are specifically referring to Wicca).
2. Be a vegetarian (I am not a vegetarian).
3. Be an artist or a musician (I am studying urban planning).
4. Drive nothing bigger than a Toyota Prius (I drive a Ford Focus, and plan to get a luxury SUV).
5. Have liberal political views. The closer to communism you are, the better. (I vote Republican, and I am opposed to high taxes, and inefficient universal health care).
6. Live in a loft that used to be a factory or a warehouse (Those are very expensive, and I have no idea how the hell an artist or musician can afford places like that. Urban planners can't afford them, either.).
7. Get your groceries at ether a co-op or somewhere like Whole Foods (I get mine at Wal-Mart, one of those "cold, heartless corporations").
8. Drink fancy, imported European beers (I don't drink anything other than soda or juice. I had beer once, and I thought it tasted terrible, and vowed never to drink it again).

And they can spot posers fairly quickly.


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Acebrock
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19 Jul 2009, 3:54 pm

Yes, though I'd be hard pressed to give specific examples.



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19 Jul 2009, 10:12 pm

I think it does for pretty much anyone, whether that's in an applied free-thinking sort of way or not. Just like you can be indoctrinated into one kind of thinking or another, or choose your own path, your surroundings and the kind of skews they either have or don't have from standard reality are usually relatively unique.



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19 Jul 2009, 10:38 pm

yes. i feel kind of crazy when the stated policy and actual actions don't match. (i think it's similar to what a lot of people on the spectrum feel about euphemisms in general. i get incensed: how am i supposed to know what to do if you're not giving me the real story?)

the other thing is that i get really angry when something looks like bullying to me (a large country beating up on a smaller one and taking all its lunch money.) or a large group picking on a smaller one.

when those things happen--any or all of the above-- i feel i need to speak out or do something. other than that--i'm surprisingly agnostic about solutions. (i don't think socialism is the solution, or capitalism, or libertarianism, etc. but i'm not sure none of them wouldn't help, if applied with some kind of integrity.)

i tend to come from an outsider's perspective, and that's what i tend to respect most--the analysis of outsiders (even if i don't know if i agree with their solutions.)


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21 Jul 2009, 4:31 pm

Absolutely. I am a strong supporter of good social security and public healthcare, because, oh well, I am on disability and within the long-term care system. I can easily be said to be a socialist (well, technically something like socialist liberal, if that makes sense) out of egoism.

Another thing is I'm pro-life on abortion and mostly on euthanasia, which is influenced by the fact that I was myself born prematurely and there's a huge debate in my country over whether very preemie babies should be resuscitated, due ththe risk of disabilities.



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22 Jul 2009, 1:30 pm

I voted for Obama, only because I thought that voting Democratic would win me a huge circle of friends with the same interests, and because I thought that voting for McCain would scare them away. It didn't work.


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22 Jul 2009, 2:21 pm

Tim_Tex wrote:
I voted for Obama, only because I thought that voting Democratic would win me a huge circle of friends with the same interests, and because I thought that voting for McCain would scare them away. It didn't work.


IMO they had similar viewpoints, I just didn't agree with McCain on foreign policy (the world hated Britain for getting too meddlesome and he was heading in the same direction).

But it seems like you're limiting the shades of gray in your personal/political life. I mean you went against your views to vote for Obama, so you know how to compramise what you believe in to fit in better. But in my experience, not discussing what I believe in works great with any social group too. I remember going to church in mid missouri where McCain was very popular and Obama was being compared to the antichrist, instead of stating my beliefs to preserve my integrity, I just laid low. When it came time for me to speak passionately about what I believed in, I stated my belief against mormonism (these were mainstream christians). I was accepted mostly because of what I did agree on, I think if I were to go back and mention my Obama sympathies, they'd understand because they've gotten used to me.



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24 Jul 2009, 2:46 pm

enamdar wrote:
How have your personal life experiences affect and shaped your political, economic, social, philosophical, religious worldviews?


You bet it has. I am more intelligent and focused than 98 percent of the human race. As a result I have a self-assured "can do" attitude. Hence I favor free enterprise and capitalism over the Welfare State. The Welfare State is for Losers, Moochers, and Whiners.

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